By Grace Vensel

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued policy guidance regarding form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record. Non-citizens applying for immigrant status must file form I-693 to demonstrate that they are not inadmissible to the United States on health-related grounds. 

According to the policy guidance, a properly completed form I-693 that has been signed by a civil surgeon on or after November 1, 2023 does not expire and can be used indefinitely. 

Background

USCIS's new policy applies to non-citizens seeking an immigration benefit, including those who are presently in the U.S. and wish to apply for adjustment of status.

Adjustment of status refers to the process that non-citizens must go through to obtain lawful permanent residence (also known as a "green card"). Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) §245(a), in order to adjust status to become a lawful permanent resident, a non-citizen must:

(1) Be inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States;

(2) Be eligible to receive an immigrant visa;

(3) Not be inadmissible to the United States; and

(4) An immigrant visa must be immediately available to the non-citizen at the time their application is filed.

One way that a non-citizen might be considered "inadmissible" to the United States is on health-related grounds. Under INA §212(a)(1), non-citizens are ineligible to receive visas or admission to the U.S. if it has been determined that the non-citizen: 

• has a communicable disease of public health significance; 
• has failed to present documentation of having received vaccination against vaccine-preventable diseases including mumps, measles, rubella, polio, tetanus and diphtheria toxoids, pertussis, influenza type B and hepatitis B, and any other vaccinations against vaccine-preventable diseases recommended by the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices;
• has a physical or mental disorder and associated behavior that may pose, or has posed, a threat to the property, safety, or welfare of the alien or others; or 
• is a drug abuser or addict. 

Therefore, when applying for adjustment of status, non-citizens must obtain an immigration medical exam using form I-693 to establish that they are not inadmissible to the U.S. on any of the public health grounds mentioned above.

Form I-693: Requirements & Validity Period 

The purpose of form I-693 is to report the results of an immigration medical exam to USCIS. It requires a non-citizen to make an appointment for a medical exam with a doctor who has been specifically designated as a "civil surgeon" by USCIS. Following the appointment, the civil surgeon must give the non-citizen their completed form I-693 in a sealed envelope for them to submit to USCIS when applying for adjustment of status. 

In the past, completed and signed forms were only valid for two years. However, the validity period has recently changed because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and USCIS have collaborated to improve the reporting of public health information collected on form I-693 by civil surgeons to local U.S. health departments. 

Under USCIS's new policy, any form I-693 that was properly completed on or after November 1, 2023 will not expire. This means that a non-citizen may use an immigration medical exam completed on or after this date at any point in the future to show that they are not inadmissible to the U.S. on public health grounds. In other words, I-693 immigration medical exams are now valid for an indefinite period of time. 

Please note -- properly completed I-693 immigration medical exams that were signed by a civil surgeon before November 1, 2023 continue to be valid for two years from the date of signature. This is because, before this date, civil surgeons were not required to share or report certain information to the CDC electronically. 

Conclusion

In all, there are many steps that a non-citizen must take to become a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. through the adjustment of status process. One such step includes proving that you are not inadmissible due to health-related reasons. Form I-693 is used to obtain a sealed immigration medical exam by a designated civil surgeon. Due to improvements in the electronic sharing of public health information with the CDC, certain I-693 immigration medical exams are now valid indefinitely. This new policy could be especially beneficial to non-citizens who are eager to begin the adjustment of status process, but cannot yet become a lawful permanent resident due to a lack of immigrant visas available to them. 

For more information about adjustment of status and form I-693, please contact the Law Offices of James D. Eiss for a consultation today!